Hardin Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC cut its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 4.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $44,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $185,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 6.2% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 196,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,526,418.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mason Y. Garrett sold 22,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $989,748.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 196,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,526,418.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,586 shares of company stock worth $1,859,154. Insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $43.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.00 and a 52 week high of $45.41.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. The business had revenue of $143.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.00 million. On average, equities analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.77%.

First Bancorp Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.